SHOTS

Extreme Shots

Extreme Long Shot Extreme Close Up

Often appear at the beginning of something Dramatic
Establishing shot Emphasis on something
So far from subject that they aren’t even visible Emotion reading/character or object connection
 Long Shots

Long Shot Master Shot

Where a character is Term given to a single, uninterrupted shot of a scene.
Question raising This shot can be the only shot used by a director to
cover a scene, or edited together with additional
shots.
 Medium Shots

Medium Long Shot Medium Shot

Seeing things from a different angle Allows something/someone else into the shot
3 dimensional/includes audience/immersive Widescreen feel
 Medium Shots
Cowboy Shot (aka American
Shot)
Frames the subject from
mid-thighs up to fit the
character’s gun holsters into
the shot.

Medium Close Up
To identify a character
Character judgement
 Basic Shots

Full Shot Close Up

Frames character from head to toes, with the subject roughly Enough to see the full face
filling the frame. Basic emotion
The emphasis tends to be more on action and movement
rather than a character’s emotional state.
 Emotion Shots

Choker Dutch Angle/Tilt

A variant of a Close-Up, this shot frames the subject’s face from Shot in which the camera is set at an angle on its roll axis so
above the eyebrows to below the mouth that the horizon line is not level. It is often used to show a
disoriented or uneasy psychological state.
 Person-Focused Shots

Two-Shot Noddy/Reaction shots

A shot of two people, framed similarly to a mid shot A shot of the interviewer listening and reacting to the subject.
This can have more than two people Emotional Focus
 Cut Shots

Cut-In Shot Cut Away

Same action but cut in through a different angle A shot of something other than the subject
Curiosity, immersion Dramatic effect, Emphasis
 Viewpoint Shots

Over-The-Shoulder Shot PoV Shots (Point of View)

Looking from behind a person at the subject Shows a view from a subjects perspective
Good for horror when someone sees something behind Dramatic Effect
someone else
 180° Shots

Reverse Angle Shot

A shot taken from an angle roughly 180 degrees opposite of the
previous shot.
The term is commonly used during conversation, indicating a
reverse Over-the-Shoulder Shot, for example.
 Viewpoint Shots

Bird’s-Eye View (aka Top Shot) Eye Level

A high-angle shot that’s taken from directly overhead and from
a distance.
The shot gives the audience a wider view and is useful for
showing direction and that the subject is moving.
The shot is often taken from on a crane, drone or helicopter.
Shot taken with the camera approximately at human eye level,
resulting in a neutral effect on the audience.
Good for panning or establishing a normal environment
 Angled Shots

High Angle Low Angle

Subject is photographed from above eye level. This can have Subject is photographed from below eye level. This can have
the effect of making the subject seem vulnerable, weak, or the effect of making the subject look powerful, heroic, or
frightened. dangerous.
 Extra/Noted Shots
Lenses and perspective relations:

o Long-focal-length lens: Character appears to blend with the background/distances are reduced

o Midnight Cowboy (John Schlesinger, 1969) Wide angle: short focal-length lens: Emphasizes distance between
subject and background or other characters

o Fish-eye: something appears not to be right o

-EXAMPLE-Touching the Void (Kevin MacDonald, 2003)
-EXAMPLE- Citizen Kane (Orson Welles, 1941)

o Depth of field: distance in front of the camera lens in which objects are in focus: Incorporates long shot,
medium shot, and close up, Links characters to background, Allows the spectator’s eye to wander around the
frame
-EXAMPLE- Citizen Kane (Orson Welles, 1941)